Dazzle Me
by Neellok
Summary: In which people learn that kidnapping Tony Stark's soulmate is a dumb idea.


**Dazzle Me**

Clutching the thin, white emergency blanket that had been draped around his shoulders, Tony blankly gazed at the white walls of his hospital room and tried to forget the past few hours. He knew that it was a foolish notion, especially for a Stark. Starks accepted the truth no matter how difficult, and did something about it. Or at least that was what his dad used to say. But then, did it even matter anymore? Howard was dead. And so was his mom.

Tony flinched when his left hand twitched, shooting spikes of pain up his mangled hand. He hurriedly blinked away the tears from his eyes and concentrated on equations and what components he'd need to build the robot that had been swimming inside his mind for the past three weeks.

Was it even worth it? Would he even be able to create it?

Tony bit his lip to hold back the scream of pure frustration and anguish at the thought of no longer creating things with his hands. He loved the feel of the wires in his hands, the shape of the gears between his fingers, and the harsh ribbing on screws. He loved deconstructing a blueprint from his mind and turning it into something amazing and tangible. Tony had always known that he would be greater than his—than Howard.

Yes. He was Howard now. Tony didn't know if he could think of him as his dad anymore. He didn't care if that made him petty. Howard had been petty. And his mom had always said Tony was exactly like him. Tony hated Howard—hated him with a fierce, burning anger that wanted to claw its way out of his throat and into harsh unforgiveable words. He couldn't hate his dad; no, his dad loved him. His dad helped him build his first robot. His dad showed up at his school when he had a presentation, or took them on vacation when he should have been inventing.

But it wasn't Tony's dad that had died. It had been Howard. Howard had been the one to ignore the warnings about what could happen that his associates kept bringing to his attention. Howard had been the one that had brought Tony and Maria to the lab that day. And it had been Howard who had caused the explosion that had cost twelve people their lives.

Tony was alone. And he would always be alone because Howard destroyed everything! No longer would his mother hold him at night and tuck him into bed. No longer would his dad take him flying in one of his helicopters, or tell him about the plans he had for the special cube he found at the bottom of the ocean.

The knowledge that he would never be able to find his soulmate made the pain even worse. As if his already broken heart was being burned out by Greek fire. He couldn't remember her name. Dad had known. Dad had promised that he would help Tony remember. But he wasn't here! And Tony couldn't read the name that was supposed to be on his left hand. The skin had been burned too badly.

At first, the doctors were worried that they would have to do skin grafts—that the damage was irreparable. And Tony wasn't sure what was worse. It was too much, too fast, and he couldn't decide if losing his only family or losing his future was worse. What was wrong with him?

Had the explosion damaged something more? Was he completely broken?

He longed to trace where her name had been. Tony wanted to replace the name; no, not replace, just make sure it was where it was supposed to be. To prove that he still had something left. But it would hurt too much. And he wasn't sure how long he had until he couldn't be put back together.

—X—

He dreamed in blue and red. The smell of burning flesh sounded like bacon sizzling on the stove. Tony never ate bacon again, even when it was the only thing in the house.

—X—

Obadiah kept telling Tony that he would get over the accident in time, even though Tony stopped listening after the first doctor spouted the same bull crap. Tony hated Obadiah too. Obadiah hadn't known about the cube. Howard had taken Tony into confidence, but that hadn't stopped Obadiah from encouraging Howard's workaholic behavior. And that placed part of the blame on Obadiah's shoulders. If he had stopped Howard, taken more of the company upon himself, then Tony's dad would have been alive.

—X—

Sometimes, when Tony is very drunk and bitter, Tony wonders if Howard's name was himself. Howard had always been an arrogant prick.

—X—

Tony had thought that college would have been different, better. It felt like high school all over again, only there were hotter chicks and more arrogant douche bags. Tony sneered at the people running from class to class. So stupid. What did they have to look forward to? Did they really think that they could make a difference in the world? No one could.

Taking another swig of his beer, Tony snorted as a blonde tripped and spilled her books all over the ground. Chugging the rest he threw the bottle in a nearby trash can and walked past her, ignoring her completely. His soulmate wasn't her. Fate would never bind him to someone so inane. Someone else could be a Good Samaritan. He was tired.

—X—

Her name had been Mary. She was beautiful, smart, and perfect, and his. Or she had been . . . until he noticed the name on her left hand was _Christopher__._ Next came Sarah, then Monique, followed by Margret and then Janice. Francine, Daniela, Stephanie, Kylee, Georgiana.

Each one was beautiful. Each one was funny, smart, but not his. Never his.

—X—

Staring at the soldering iron, Tony's hand twitched toward it, wanting to prove that he wasn't different—that he had something to live for other than turning his liver into mush and great random tech. His fingers closed around the handle, and poised the tip over his left hand, before it was jerked out of Tony's grip.

Tony glared at the bot. "Why did you do that, Dummy?"

Dummy chirped and backed up so the soldering iron was out of Tony's reach.

Tony glared and briefly considered demanding it back, or chasing the stupid bot around the lab, but decided it was pointless. He glanced back at the computer screen that had a list of fonts and sighed, closing the screen. He didn't even know her name anyway.

—X—

Tony laughed in triumph that soon tripped into the scale of hysterics when he finally succeeded. He had finally done something right for a change. He would never be alone again. He didn't care that he would never find his soulmate.

"Hello, JARVIS."

—X—

And then he met Pepper. Spunky, beautiful, amazing Pepper. His best friend and PA. Tony had lost many things in his messed up life, so he just created robots to take their place. Who needed humans when robots would always be there for you?

Pepper was different. He wasn't willing to replace her. He didn't think he could.

—X—

Tony huddled under the worn blanket Yinsen gave him and tried to fall asleep. He knew that his captors would return once again, demanding that he build them weapons.

"They will not leave you alone until you give in," Yinsen said, voice soft. "They will use everything against you. And they will take everything away."

Tony chuckled and winced when it felt like the wires from the car battery shifted in his chest. "That's not possible. I don't have anything left to give."

—X—

Tony dreamed of blue. This time, it saved him.

—X—

Tony created Iron Man and destroyed as many weapons as he could find, and killed Stane in the process. He ignored the hollowness that stayed in his chest even after he replaced his arc reactor. It didn't matter anymore. He'd learned to live with the void a long time ago.

—X—

Tony signed over the company to Pepper and wondered if this was always supposed to happen: if the reason why he had never found his soulmate was because he would die. Tony never wanted to be Howard. He never wanted to take someone's future away from them.

—X—

Staring at information about the Avengers Initiative that Agent Coulson had brought him, Tony glared at the blue cube in his hand. He hated the color blue. It was the most powerful energy source that had been found, and the one that had killed his parents. He briefly wondered if that was the reason why Fury had never told him that they were experimenting on it again.

_Doesn't play well with others._

Forget that. Fury was up to something.

—X—

"You look like Howard."

Tony couldn't help the hatred that finally bubbled out of his throat. "I'm nothing like Howard." It was then that Tony decided to hate Captain America. Sure, he used to idolize the Capsicle when he had been a kid, but he didn't know if that had been the result of the stories his dad had told him, or Howard.

Either way, Captain America was a dick.

—X—

Weapons.

It was always weapons.

The last few years Tony had tracked down as many Stark weapons as he could and destroyed them, and SHIELD was planning on creating more.

Tony sneered at Fury and welcomed the anger with opened arms. He had nothing better to do than tear them down.

—X—

Tony wondered if the cellist would be notified of Coulson's death or if bonded pairs somehow knew. Did the name vanish? Would the color of the signature change? Or was it a constant reminder of what you had lost?

—X—

Tony poured the amber liquid in the tumbler and discreetly put a bracelet on each wrist. He relished the alcohol sliding down his throat and smirked as Loki foretold Earth's defeat.

Tony didn't know if his soulmate was still alive. He didn't know what her hair color was, or what her laugh sounded like. He didn't know if she had dimples or if her eyes were the color of rain. He only knew that if Loki took over Earth, if he became their ruler, she might as well be dead. There was no way Tony was going to allow Loki, the egotistical maniac, to enslave his soulmate.

Avengers. He liked the sound of that.

—X—

They wouldn't win. Tony knew with a deep, wrenching pain in his gut. There were too many opponents, and not enough heroes. They would die and Loki would be right.

Then Fury's voice came over the speakers and said a missile was aimed at Manhattan. And Tony did what he always did: he calculated the odds and decided that one life was worth it. Spock would be so proud!

Maybe it was better that he had never met his soulmate. At least he wouldn't leave her behind. She could find another Tony. A better Tony.

—X—

The Avengers go their separate ways, leaving Tony feeling even more lost than when he had started. He hated that he'd started to feel a connection with the people who had fought by his side. He shook Bruce's hand at the airport and nodded when Bruce promised to visit, pretending to believe him.

Tony went back to his damaged tower and quickly immersed himself in blueprints and schematics for fixing the building and adding extra floors. He didn't know if they would be back, but he had to have something to live for, even if it was all in his head.

—X—

Tony didn't know when everyone moved into the tower, or when they felt like a team again, and he wasn't sure if he cared. They would never be family; frankly, he didn't know if he understood what that even was. But for the first time in years, he felt like he had a place to belong.

—X—

"So, is Pepper your soulmate?"

Tony's head shot up, making him wince at the whiplash. He glared at the archer across the table and fought to keep his voice even. "That's none of our business, Barton."

Clint frowned at his last name. They hadn't called each other by surnames in months. "I was just—"

"Yeah, well don't." Tony grabbed his StarkPad and left the kitchen, ignoring the confused and annoyed glances of his teammates. He knew that they didn't know, and if he had any say, they never would. It wasn't their business. He wandered into his lab and informed JARVIS to not allow anyone entrance, especially Steve or Pepper, and then got to work, deftly evading the voice in the back of his head that said they would figure out how pathetic his life really was soon enough.

He ordered JARVIS to bring up the schematics for the suit and gradually replaced the emptiness with numbers and percentages, and possibilities of a future that he could still grasp.

—X—

Coughing, Tony tried to command Dummy to stop spraying him with the fire extinguisher, but only succeeded in inhaling more smoke.

"Crap! Are you okay?" Two smaller hands grabbed him and tried to get him to stand.

He pushed them away and glanced up at a brunette he had never seen before. "What the heck are you doing in my lab?" he demanded, annoyed that his privacy had been invaded. "Dummy! That's enough, you stupid bucket of bolts. I'm not on fire! Why don't you actually do something producti—actually just go to your charging station. No, don't give me that face. I don't care if you were just trying to help. Go to your station!"

Hearing a chuckle, Tony glanced up in surprise. "You're still here?"

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Obviously. So . . . you're Tony Stark."

Tony coughed and wiped his filthy hands on his even dirtier pants. He quickly got off the floor and smirked in her direction. "Obviously. Why are you here again?"

She smirked. "I was wandering the tower and heard music that wasn't total crap. Then I heard an explosion and I decided to check and see if you were dead or not. And if you weren't, I'd try to save you. No one with that taste in music should bite the dust in a lame explosion."

Tony held back the flinch and quipped, "Lame explosion? I'll have you know that nothing Tony Stark does is lame. I am the epitome of awesome."

She snorted. "And that is what we call delusion."

Tony grinned at the reply. It had been ages since talking to someone had been this amusing. Baiting Capsicle didn't count, though Tony would never get tired of seeing the man turn lobster red and stutter. "What's your name?"

"Darcy. And if you make one stupid _Pride and Prejudice_ reference, I'll taser you." She held out her right hand and, without thinking, Tony shook it. "Cool. Now show me something," she said, looking around the brightly lit lab that was still hazy from the smoke. She glanced over at the bench where something was charred and smirked as she moved around Tony.

Tony stared at her in surprise as he flexed his right hand. It was still warm. He shook his head and followed her to the tech he had completely ruined. "What?"

"Gonna dazzle me, Sparky, or do you always have a premature eruption?"

Tony couldn't stop the chuckle that flooded his chest and vocal chords. Oh, he liked her.

—X—

Tony smiled as Darcy swung her legs back and forth. For the past few weeks she had been coming into his lab wanting to perform experiments. Apparently she had interned with Jane Foster in New Mexico while studying for her Poli-Sci degree. She had also tasered Thor after Dr. Foster ran him over with her car.

She had planned on completing her degree, but then the Chitauri had attacked Manhattan and SHIELD had called her in. Darcy still called it bull crap. She wasn't an agent, and she never got her iPod back. And when Tony had offered to give her a new, free Stark one, she sneered something about having to download all of her music again, and that she owed a suit a punch in the face.

It wasn't until a few hours later that he found out she meant Coulson. He called Fury and got it delivered the next day. She would never get the chance to punch Coulson, but he could give her something—even if it was a piece of crap iPod made by Steven Jobs. And maybe an improved taser.

—X—

"Come on. You're taking me out to lunch."

Tony glanced up from the gauntlet he was working on and frowned. "What?"

Darcy smiled at his dazed look. It had been days since the last battle and he had not left the lab since. It was time to get him to eat and sleep. She grasped his hand and tugged him along. "You're taking me to lunch. And it had better be good. None of that Shawarma crap you guys had."

Tony scowled. Okay, so the Shawarma hadn't been his best idea, but it hadn't been terrible. Darcy raised an eyebrow as if she knew what he was thinking. "I've thought of worse."

She snorted. "I know; that's what amuses me."

—X—

"Tony, what are you doing?" Bruce asked. He was going to ask Tony for his input on some calculations, but for the past few hours Tony had been working on something and had locked everyone out of the lab.

Tony started in surprised and knocked one of the components in his design out of whack. It didn't matter though; JARVIS knew where it went. He blinked owlishly at Bruce, wondering when he had gotten there. "What?"

Bruce sighed in fond exasperation. "What are you working on?"

"Oh, it's a taser," Tony said, already dismissing the conversation.

"Why?"

Tony sighed, knowing that if he didn't answer Bruce would continue to annoy him. He was surprisingly stubborn now that he knew he had a secure home. "It's for Darcy."

—X—

Darcy squealed, actually _squealed_ when Tony handed her the new and improved taser. She threw her arms around him, still clutching it tightly in her hand.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is awesome!"

Tony smirked and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. It had been years since he had simply hugged a person, and it felt weird and warm and perhaps a little bit like home.

"You're welcome."

Darcy's arms tightened briefly and then she pulled back, smiling so wide her dimples deepened and her eyes crinkled at the corners. "I can't wait to show Jane. Hey, do you think Thor would let me test it on him?"

Tony grinned and shrugged. He forced himself to keep his hands at his side. She wasn't his. No way would she ever be his. He watched her leave the lab, bouncing and shouting for Jane to look at her new present, and tried to persuade himself he wasn't cold.

—X—

Tony knocked on her bedroom door, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. It had been a while since he had asked anyone out. Not that it was a date. Because it wasn't. Really. He just wanted to watch a movie. Steve was in the gym, Clint and Natasha were on missions, and Bruce was in the lab. It was pure luck that Darcy was the only one here.

"What do you want, Sparky?" Darcy asked, earbuds hanging around her neck.

"Wanna ditch the lame music and watch a movie?"

Darcy scowled at the insult to her music, but nodded. She was used to Tony's snark. "Only if it's Bourne Identity," she retorted.

Tony winced at her choice. He hated that movie. It was about a man who couldn't remember his soulmate's name because he had had it removed when he became a secret agent for Treadstone. During an undercover mission he was shot and got amnesia. And through the whole film he was trying to regain his memories. It hit too close to home for Tony, but he knew it was Darcy's favorite. And if he had to suffer through a two hour torture film to spend time with her, he would.

—X—

"You're going to kill your stomach if you only drink coffee," Darcy said, walking in unannounced.

Tony ignored her and continued to chug the lukewarm deliciousness. "I don't care. I have nothing to live for anyway. It'd be the perfect way to go: death by coffee, " he joked.

She flinched.

"What?" He frowned at the drastic change. "What's wrong?"

Darcy's fingers clenched the StarkPad that was in her hands, and stalked toward the bench he was sitting on. "Nothing." She slammed it on the table. "Sign these. Pepper needs them today."

"But—"

She threw the stylus at him, making him fumble to catch it before it hit the floor. "Now, Tony."

Tony sneered. "Whatever, Princess."

She grabbed the StarkPad from his hands and stared at the signature for a few seconds before her lips tightened.

Tony slapped up his walls at the pain that was starting to build in his chest. He almost placed his hand over his arc reactor to verify it was still there. "Something wrong with my signature?" he demanded, annoyed that she was being so pissy. He hadn't done anything.

"Yes." She whirled around and almost ran from the room, anger trailing after her like a cloak.

Whatever. He knew it wouldn't last. They always left. He was used to it.

—X—

Tony stared at his StarkPad, pretending he was actually doing something productive. He hated Avengers meetings. He just wanted to go out there and tear them apart. Yes it was reckless, but he didn't care. Why had he ever allowed her inside the lab? It had been a stupid decision. Hadn't he already accepted that—

"What?" Tony demanded, looking up for the first time since the meeting began.

"Well, if you pulled your head out of your a—" Clint snarled, annoyed that Tony was still being a prick.

"Enough!" Steve ordered. He glared at Clint and then at Tony. "Are you actually going to listen this time, Tony, or just pretend you have better things to do?"

Tony dismissed the slice of disappointment that pierced him. "I'm always busy."

Clint snorted. "Of course you are."

Tony continued to stare at Captain America. "Well?"

Steve sighed. "Darcy has been kidnapped. We don't know why—"

Tony laughed bitterly. Darcy, of course it was Darcy. It was always someone important, wasn't it? Fate just loved to screw him over. "She lives in the tower and is a glorified secretary. She has access to every floor and we talk about everything in front of her," Tony barked back. "They want information. Plain and simple."

He hated the clipped coldness that had crept into his tone. But he knew he needed to deal with the pain, and that was the only way he could. It didn't matter if his other teammates didn't understand. Bruce would turn into a giant rage monster, Natasha would sharpen her weapons, Clint would shoot stuff, Thor would seek out Dr. Foster, and Steve would beat the crap out of punching bags. They all had their way of coping.

"What are the demands?"

Steve glanced around the room before resting his gaze on Tony. "They demand that her soulmate turn himself in."

Tony rolled his eyes. Right. Like anyone was stupid enough to do that. "And who is the idiot that's supposed to turn himself over to an evil organization?"

"You are," Captain America said, voice firm and unyielding. His hands clenched at Tony's reply, though he tried to hide his building anger.

Tony laughed bitterly. "Pull the other one, Cap."

Steve scowled and slammed his hands on the conference table, making Natasha reach for a knife and Clint to latch onto his bow. "I'm not joking, Tony. I know you aren't in love with her; everyone in the tower knows that, but could you at least _for once in your life_ think of someone other than yourself? She loves you, though for the life of me I can't think of a reason. The least you could do is rescue her!"

"But—" Tony's left hand spasmed. What were they talking about? Why would they think—she'd asked for his signature and had never said anything! Crap! Why didn't she tell him? If what Steve said was correct, why hadn't she told him? "_That's not possible_."

Clint snorted at the response. "Of course. If it doesn't fit in your plans, it doesn't matter."

Tony growled at Clint. Sometimes he really hated the guy. Why had he saved him from Loki again? "The possibility of me finding my soulmate is very, very minute! There is no—"

"Excuse me, sir, but they are indeed telling the truth," JARVIS interjected.

Tony froze. It wasn't possible. Darcy couldn't be. She was too perfect for him. There was no way he could be her soulmate. She— "Why wasn't I informed?" he croaked.

"You decided to stop looking, sir, and told me to ignore anything to deal with 'soulmates and all that romantic, mushy crap'. If it helps, you were drunk at the time that order was given."

Tony almost smiled. Of course he had been drunk. He had always been drunk before he had joined the Avengers, and if he were truthful, before he met Darcy. To her, alcohol was for the unoriginal and inane people of the world. Why get wasted and forget, when you could experiment and blow crap up for fun?

"JARVIS, locate Darcy Lewis immediately. Use any means necessary." Tony pushed back from the table and headed toward the door, intent on finding his kidnapped soulmate.

"Understood, sir."

Steve frowned, placing a hand on Tony's arm to stop him. "What are you planning on doing Stark?"

Tony smirked darkly at Steve, plans and scenarios already flashing through his mind at warp speed. "I'm going to teach them a lesson. Nobody takes my stuff."

—X—

Tony sneered at the primitive facility they had taken Darcy to. It was disgraceful that they not only kidnapped Darcy, but placed her in something so plebian. Did they really think that it would stop him from rescuing her? He blasted his way through another wall with his repulsors. Not even trying to be subtle. There wasn't any need. They challenged him; they would get him.

"Have you hacked in yet, JARVIS?" Tony demanded, dodging bullets and security personal that were already converging on his position.

"Of course, sir," JARVIS said, almost sounding insulted.

"Good. Where is Darcy being held?"

"Miss Darcy is not being held anywhere, sir. She is currently running down the main corridor with her taser and three guards chasing her. I believe it would be prudent to assist her."

Tony chuckled at the report. Of course he didn't need to rescue her. She was his girl, after all. "On my way." Tony pushed past the annoying guards and quickly made his way toward Darcy. Landing behind her, he jumped back when she turned and swiped her taser. "Hey, good guy here."

Darcy stared at him in surprise that rapidly transformed into anger. "Well it's about time you showed up, Sparky. I've been waiting for, like, two hours. Do you know how hard it is to hide this taser where they can't find it? I've been bored out of my mind. All they talked about was how great—"

"Talk later; fight now," Tony ordered, grabbing her and weaving out of the way of the bullets. He growled in annoyance. Was this really all they had? Stupid amateurs. "What are their plans?"

"Plans? What plans? Pretty much just demanding you come, which I didn't think you would, by the way, and blowing your suit sky high with a bunch of low-tech weapons. I mean, all they have are guns, and not even good guns at that. Did you see the models they had?"

Yeah, Darcy was going to be just fine.

"JARVIS? Instruct everyone in the facility that they have ten minutes to evacuate, and then blow this piece of crap up."

"Affirmative, sir."

Tony desperately wanted to just blow it up with everyone in it. Okay, well he wanted to, but he seriously wasn't that heartless, even when it came to protecting his soulmate. Tony knew this wasn't going to be the last explosion he was going to be in, or even the last one he would cause himself, but it was the first one that made him feel so much pleasure.

Over thirty years ago, an explosion took everything from him. This time, he was sticking his finger to the world, and taking it back. Fate better watch out, because Tony Stark was gunning for it. Nothing was going to take Darcy from him.

And he'd mock and then ruthlessly maim anyone who tried.

—X—

Steve scowled and stalked up to Tony when he and Darcy returned to the Helicarrier. He waited until Darcy had been commandeered by a nurse before he rounded on Tony. "Did you have to blow it up?"

Tony smiled as innocently as he could, which wasn't very much. "Yes." He didn't care if Captain America approved of his choice. It hadn't been Steve's soulmate in there. It had been Tony's. And Tony had the law-given right to kill everyone in that building for daring to kidnap his soulmate. "Listen, I know you hate my guts, I don't like you much either"—he pretended he didn't notice Steve's look of confusion or hear his voiced denial—"but that was not your call. Darcy is _my soulmate_, and I could have killed them without giving a warning. But I did, because I'm not a completely heartless. You might be the leader of our team, but you do not own me or dictate my life, so I'll say this once: screw off and leave me alone!"

"Tony—"

"No! I have been looking for my soulmate for decades, Steve. _Decades_. And no one is going to take her from me. Not even you." Tony walked around Steve and entered the medical bay, looking for Darcy. He sighed in relief when he saw her sitting on a bed close to the window.

Tony motioned to the white bandage on her head. "How's the head?"

Darcy snorted. "Feel like I was hit with Mew-Mew." She paused and looked Tony in the eye. "They deserved it. I don't care what Steve says."

Tony nodded and grinned at her. He knew she'd side with him. "I know."

She nodded. "Good. When do you think they'll let me out of this joint?"

Tony laughed. "With your luck . . . tomorrow. Concussions are nasty."

She scowled and prodded the white bandage that was tinted with red. "It's not a concussion!" Darcy protested.

Tony opened his mouth to retort, and blinked in surprise when he gracelessly blurted out, "I didn't know."

Darcy looked away from him, and abruptly pulled away to lean against the flat pillow at the head of the bed. "Right. Of course you didn't."

Tony hated this. He hated that she no longer believed him, hated that her eyes didn't hold the right sparkle and that her voice sounded flat. He scooted forward and grabbed her hand, forcing her soulmate name to face him. She jerked her hand, trying to pull it out of his grip, but he held firm.

Anthony

Tony's eyes closed briefly as relief swept through him. He never thought his name could be so beautiful. Carefully, he let her hand drop back onto the bed and stuck his left hand out toward her. He waited for the inevitable sound of disgust, but it never came.

Opening his eyes, he stared at her perfect, small hand caressing his scarred left hand where her name was supposed to be. "I was in an accident when I was a kid," he whispered, barely loud enough over the hum of the engines. "I lost my mom, my dad, and you." He swallowed around the lump in his throat. "I didn't think I'd find you."

Darcy blinked back the tears in her eyes and grinned at him. "I'm not some stupid damsel in distress, Tony. Didn't today teach you anything? You didn't need to find me. I just had to find you."

Tony wanted to laugh at the sappy words. But he couldn't. Not when he had been waiting for them for such a long time. No, he could excuse the sap, at least for today.

"Yeah, I guess you did." He leaned forward, as his left hand tangled in her long beautiful brunette hair and tugged her closer.

She smiled against his lips. "Gonna dazzle me, Sparky?"

Tony's heart leapt in his chest at her words. "You have no idea."


End file.
